When you read this Warm Thoughts column and look at the calendar, it tells us that Abraham Lincoln's birthday is February 12th. In the one room country school where I went as a child, the pictures of George Washington and Abe Lincoln hung on the wall along with the ten commandments. In those years, the government recognized two President holidays in February. These two presidents became examples of compassion and courage in my life. George Washington was our first president and known as the father of our country. Abraham Lincoln was president during the Civil War. Very recently, I read an incident about Abraham Lincoln that happened in the Civil War. It really touched my heart during this heart month, and I felt compelled to share these thoughts on caring and compassion with you.
Episode 116: Happy Christmas to All →
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" These heartwarming and familiar words so dear to all, complete Clement Clarke Moore's beloved poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas." The following Christmas poem was written by an unknown author, "Twas the Night Before Jesus Came."
Episode 36: Bigger than Challenges →
This is the season to be thankful. But really isn't every day, a day to give thanks for our many challenges and blessings. It was many years ago that a dear friend taught me to always be thankful, no matter what happens, one day after listening to her, I stated that it seemed to me that she was being one day after listening to her I stated that it seemed to me that she was really being tried and tested her reply left an indelible impression on me. Her face was radiant and her eyes sparkled as she spoke, and fat ugly. I love God so much and I just can't look at all these troubles as problems.
Episode 35: Liberty →
November. The month of Remembrance Day, also known as Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving Day, how thankful we are to live in our America, liberty, so precious a gift for each of us. It is so special that we can enjoy our liberty every day here in America and our country we have the freedom to vote to participate and free enterprise, and to worship as we are lead. We need to be reminded often of their value. And the words of our national anthem by Francis Scott Key, the price of our liberty is made quite clear, a great price was paid by our forefathers. And that price is still being paid in our country today.
Episode 34: Learning from the Birds →
This is the time of year when some folks leave the prairie winds and go south for the winter. Folks down south who have permanent residents there will say, “The snowbirds are coming!”
About the same time, the northern geese are going south too. Recently I read that these geese are not going as far south as they used to go in past years. These geese flap their wings and fly south in a V formation. In the spring, they fly north, and it is always a special time for us to learn some lessons from the geese. We can learn about sharing leadership from the geese. When the goose in the lead gets tired, it rotates back into the formation and another goose takes over at the point position. We can also learn from the geese, to be interdependent and take turns and doing the hard tasks in a caring and sharing way.